A lock apparatus for a glove box which is coupled to an instrument panel of a vehicle so as to be able to be open and closed is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13647 and Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13655.
Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13647 discloses that a knob (an operating handle) is located at a center of a glove box, that the knob is provided not to an instrument panel but to the glove box, and that the knob is of a rotation type (not of a push type).
Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13655 also discloses that a knob (an operating handle) is located at a center of a glove box, that the knob is provided not to an instrument panel but to the glove box, and that the knob is of a rotation type (not of a push type).
With Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13647 and Japanese Patent Publication 2003-13655, there are the following drawbacks:
(a) Since the knob is located at the center of the glove box, the knob is located relatively far from a driver seat. As a result, an operability of the knob from the driver seat is poor.
(b) Since the knob is of a rotation type, a recess for inserting a finger may be required to be provided beneath and at a rear of the knob, which degrades the appearance of the glove box. Further, a door thickness of the glove box is rather large, which reduces the housing space of the glove box.(c) If the knob provided to the glove box is changed from one of the rotation type to one of a push type in order to decrease the drawback of item (b) above, an open direction of the glove box becomes reverse to the push direction of the knob, which lowers the opening operability of the glove box.(d) If the knob is offset to one of the ends of the glove box in the right and left directions of the glove box in order to decrease the drawback of item (a) above, when the knob is operated or the glove box is closed, a load is imposed on the one end of the glove box thereby causing a deformation of the glove box. As a result, a step and a clearance are generated between a surface of at least the one end of the glove box in the right and left direction of the glove box and a surface of the instrument panel, which degrades the appearance of the glove box.(e) In order to decrease the drawback of item (d) above, if a lock portion is provided at each end of the glove box in the right and left direction of the glove box and the knob is offset to one of the ends of the glove box in the right and left directions to lock and unlock the lock portions, due to a torsion generated in an operation force transmitting member extending between the right and left lock portions, the right and left lock portions do not operate synchronously. As a result, one side locking, where only one lock portion is locked, and the other lock portion is not locked is likely to take place, which will increase a deformation of the glove box. If a torsional rigidity of the operation force transmitting member is increased, a cross section of the operation force transmitting member is large, so that the housing space of the glove box is small.
Problems to be solved by certain embodiments of the present invention can be the poor operability of the knob when the knob is located at the center of the glove box, the poor appearance of the glove box when the knob is of a rotation type, the poor opening operability of the glove box when the knob provided to the glove box is changed to of the push type, the generation of the step between the door and the instrument panel (or a fixed interior member of a vehicle, hereinafter the instrument panel includes the fixed interior member) when the knob is offset to one end of the glove box in the right and left directions of the glove box, and the one side locking which will take place when the lock portions are provided at opposite ends of the glove box in the right and left direction of the glove box wherein the right and left lock portions are unlikely to operate synchronously due to a torsion of the operating force transmitting member.
An object of certain embodiments of the present invention can be to provide a lock apparatus for locking an opening and closing motion of a glove box of a vehicle which can perform all of improving operability of a knob from a driver seat, improving an appearance of a portion of the glove box around the knob, maintaining the opening operability of the glove box even when the knob is changed to that of a push type, preventing a step from being caused between a door and an instrument panel even when the knob is offset to one end of the glove box in a right and left direction of the glove box, and preventing one side locking due to a torsion of an operating force transmitting member extending between right and left lock portions from taking place even when the lock portions are provided at opposite ends of the glove box in the right and left direction of the glove box.